Forgotten Memories
by Burnt Rice
Summary: What if Tohru, Yuki, and Kyo had met in the first grade? How would've things been different?
1. Default Chapter

Author's note: I'm writing this in dedication to Shiney Bubba, who wrote me the most offending flame I have ever recieved, or even seen on the entirety of this site. I would just like to say that you must've been really bored to spend so much time typing in honor of a fic that you find appalling. (which wasn't even written by me, but what else was I supposed to do with the fic, lamanate it?) So, I hope this is worth your time, and that I prove you wrong, and that people who are reading this right now will look you up and find that you haven't written any fics yourself.  
  
Thanks to Horyuu, who bought me my first Fruits Basket DVD, and who introduced me to one of my favorite animes. She's a REAL author, and a good one at that.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket, but one day, I hope that I'll come up with something just as good.  
  
~Forgotten Memories~  
By Burnt Rice  
  
Chapter 1: Alone, Hate  
  
Ten children sat around in a circle, each eagerly awaiting his or her turn. A boy with sandy brown hair, who was slightly taller than the other children was the one to do the assigning. "You are a.....banana! You're an......apple!" In that manner, he went down the line, giving each expectant child a fruit. At long last, he reached the last child, a girl. She wore a soft smile, her gray-black hair half-tied up to the side. The boy stopped and thought awhile. "And......you're a.....rice ball!" 'Hmm', thought the girl. 'Rice balls are tasty!' She was the only one of her class who didn't know that the boy did it out of spite. She innocently thought that one day she would get picked as a fruit, and someone else would get rice ball. But that never happened. So, everyday she sat out of the game, alone, watching the other children play.  
  
~~  
  
"Mommy!" Tohru Honda smiled and ran up to her mother, who was picking her up after school. Her mother grinned as she opened her arms wide and let her daughter ram into them. "What's up, kiddo?!", she said, and swung Tohru in her arms for a moment. "I got picked as rice ball today again, Mommy!" Her mother's smile slightly faded. 'So, she still doesn't get that the kids are actually picking on her', she sadly thought. "Mommy, what's wrong?" asked Tohru with wide eyes. "Nothing, honey." She straightened, and held her daughter's hand as they waled along the sidewalk. "How about we have fish for dinner? It's a cat's favorite food....." "Yay!" cried Tohru. "You'll see Mommy, one of these days, I'm gonna save the cat and invite him over for dinner, so he won't be so lonely anymore!" Her mother giggled. "Then I'd better buy more fish......"  
  
~~  
  
"I'm NOT going!" cried a boy of six with fierce crimson eyes and strawberry-blond hair. "You can't make me!"  
  
"Well, why not?", asked an exasperated Souma elder.  
  
"Yuki's gonna be there, I HATE him!!"  
  
"It's going to be Yuki's first day there, as well!", he replied. "He's going to need a familiar face and YOU'RE the only one around his age!"  
  
"But WHY-"  
  
"No buts, Kyo. You're going to school WITH Yuki, and that's final!" The elder walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him.  
  
Outside, below an open window, another boy with grey hair and exquisite violet eyes hid. He couldn't believe his ears. 'Why in the world do I have to go to school with that......that CAT?!', Yuki Souma thought. He ran off to his room to sulk. On the other side of the wall, Kyo Souma, Yuki's cousin, was throwing a tantrum, knocking over chairs and kicking the wall. "I'm NOT GOING!", was the repeated mantra that he yelled over and over, fervently wishing that in some way, he wouldn't have to be with that stupid rat.  
  
~~End Ch. 1  
  
So, how is it? Boring, predictable? (I WOULD think that since I already have the ending planned out, so I know what's going to happen....) I know that this was a really short chapter, but it seemed like a good place to end it so.....hint: The title of this fic DOES have a meaning...*wink wink* Please review!(^.~) 


	2. Fish and Fights

A/N- This chapter is satisfyingly longer than my last. I've been considering writing "Screw You!" to Shiney Bubba, but I've decided against it, since it's so mean to throw some random person's name to a bunch of strangers. Oh, wait, I already did................ ...........oh well. On that note, please ignore my most recent (and pointless) rant, and enjoy!! ^-^  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket, but Keisuke Monoe is mine forever and ever to do whatever I want with him.........  
  
~Forgotten Memories~  
By Burnt Rice  
  
Chapter 2: Fish and Fights  
  
"Attention, class!", said Mrs. Daisuke, Tohru's the first grade teacher. "We have two new students here joining us today. Cousins, actually." Mrs. Daisuke gave a welcoming smile to Yuki and Kyo Souma, then turned her attention back to her students. "Say good morning, class." The first graders repeated the teacher's greeting quite passively. "I hope that all of you treat them kindly, and make them feel welcome here." She looked down at the two boys. "We're finger-painting right now. Why don't you two grab some art supplies and pick a canvas?" Yuki and Kyo nodded silently, and obeyed the teacher's orders.  
  
~~  
  
Tohru looked up from her desk and eyed the newcomers with newfound interest. One of them, the one with the orange hair, was looking sullen, and his wrist was tightly gripped by the teacher. He obviously did not want to be here, as he kept trying to pull away from her death-grip, and failed, miserably. She only caught glimpses of the other one. He hid behind Mrs. Daisuke's skirt and only peeped out every few seconds, as if anyone were to touch him, he would catch the cooties and die. Tohru could see that the two cousins looked and behaved nothing alike, but she made a firm resolution to become friends with each of them. 'Like my Mom always says,' she thought, 'a friend made is like a new treasure found!' When the teacher called for the finger painting activity, Tohru scrambled to get a canvas next to one of the cousins. She luckily managed to get one next to Orange death-grip boy.  
  
~~  
  
'I don't wanna be here.' ,thought Kyo. 'Why not someone else?' He started with some blue paint, for the ocean, painting whatever was on his mind. 'I'm hungry. I wonder when snack time is....' "Hi!", said a girl's voice from beside him. He chose not to answer. 'Maybe if I don't say anything, she'll leave me alone.' he thought. He got some gray paint on his forefinger, black on his thumb, and brown paint on his other thumb. 'This is for the boat', he thought, and worked for awhile with slight concentration, his tongue sticking out of the side of his mouth, his mind lingered on the prospect of snacktime. He turned around to wash his fingers off, to find that same annoying girl staring at him, then quickly turning around to work on her own almost-blank canvas. "What?" he asked. "Well, it's just that..." the girl mumbled for a bit and Kyo was now thoroughly perplexed by what this strange girl with grayish hair could possibly want with him. "What do you want?", he repeated. "Well, I......I really like your picture." Kyo's face looked suprised. "I mean," she said, "I like your fish." Kyo looked down, not realizing that in the face of his hunger, he had finger-painted multiple fish in an ocean, with a boat floating on the waves above them. "Uh, thanks.", he said, still taken by suprise. Still, the girl went on. "But I think something's missing.", she said, and promptly dipped her finger in orange paint and started to work on his beloved picture. "Hey-wait! St-Stop that!", he said, frantically looking over the girl's shoulder to see what she was doing. Of course, it wasn't as if he could grab her and pull her away without revealing his secret, so he stood there waiting for the final, and surely, horrifying, product. Finally, the girl turned around, blushed, said "Excuse me", and walked away. Kyo looked up to see exactly what horrifying thing that the girl did to his painting. Suprisingly, it lay untouched, except at the very top, where the boat lay, a very crude orange cat was drawn, and could be seen fishing from it. 'That's exactly what I was gonna do!", he thought with amazement. The snack bell rang. He put away his art supplies, and headed to where his cubby lay. But not before turning around to take one last look at his fish painting standing upright next to an almost-blank one.  
  
~~  
  
Tohru sighed to herself. 'I bet he hates it.', she thought, and opened up her lunch- box that held her snack. She sat alone in the corner, by herself. She didn't really mind that the other kids never came up to her, but she did wonder at why they refused to have anything to do with her. The only game they played with her was Fruits Basket, and she always got the role of rice ball, so she couldn't even play with them, not really. 'Maybe I have cooties.', she thought, and took a nibble of her snack. It was then she noticed that death-grip-fish-Orange boy sitting in the corner across from her. 'I wonder why he isn't sitting with his cousin....' Tohru looked down, and wondered whether she should say sorry to him or not, when she eyed her snack. "Of course! I have nothing to lose so......" She marched right up to him, and he looked up at her, eyes wide in suprise. "Can I sit here?", she asked. The boy curtly nodded. They sat in silence for a few minutes. 'It's now or never..", Tohru thought. "I'm-" she was interrupted by the boy. "I'm sorry.", he said.  
  
"Uh....thanks for drawing that cat for me...."  
  
"You mean you don't hate it?"  
  
"Uh, no....I was going to draw a cat there anyways, so.....", he never got to finish. Tohru's smile was wide, and she immediately held out her hands. Orange looked at it uncertainly, until he saw what was in them. "Goldfish Crackers!!", he exclaimed. "Can I have some?!" "Sure!", Tohru brightly answered, and spilt the whole bag onto a napkin so that they could both eat them. Orange's peanut butter sandwich lay forgotten on the floor, they started talking about all kinds of stuff, like how Tohru's and his favorite animal was a cat, and how Orange loved karate, and how he wanted to be a karate expert one day.  
  
"By the way," she asked. "What's your name?" Tohru had secretly been calling the boy "Orange" for the whole morning, and now it just didn't seem right to call him by that name anymore. "I'm Tohru. Tohru Honda."  
  
Kyo was glad she had asked this question, because he himself had been calling Tohru "That Strange Girl"-well, not to her face, of course. "Kyo Souma.", he replied. At that, they happliy went back to their conversation of fish and fights.  
  
~~  
  
Yuki jealously watched the two new firends from the other corner of the room. He rather liked the look of that girl with the gray hair, at least when she wasn't around Kyo. When he first came into the classroom with Mrs. Daisuke and Cat, all he saw were faces staring at him. He hid behind the teacher's skirt, and when he looked out again, the girl with gray hair was the only one smiling. and for some reason, it made him feel safer, like everything was going to be alright. But he banished the thought from his mind. 'If she makes firends with someone like Kyo,' he thought, 'then she doesn't deserve to be a friend of mine...' For some reason, thinking that only made him feel worse.  
  
~~  
  
Another bell rang. Mrs, Daisuke's voice rose over all of the first graders'. "Okay, class, put away your snacks! Time for recess!!" All of the kids scrambled to be the first outside. "Let's go!", said Tohru to Kyo. She ran out the doors, with Kyo following closely behind. Yuki waited till all of the children were outside of the classroom, and then slowly walked out.  
  
~~  
  
"What do you want to play?", asked Kyo. "Everyday, all of us play Fruits Basket!", she said brightly. "Do you know how to play?" Kyo nodded. "Good.", she replied. "I'm sure they'll let you in since you already know how, but first, we have to ask Keisuke."  
  
"Who's that?"  
  
"Keisuke Monue. He's the leader of us first graders."  
  
"What, for today?"  
  
"No, for forever."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I don't know.....I think it's because he's bigger than us."  
  
"Oh. Okay."  
  
"Keisuke-san!", yelled Tohru. A boy, about 9 inches taller than Kyo, ran up to them. He had sandy-blond hair and a piercing light-brown gaze. "What, squirt?" "Can Kyo play with us today?" He looked Kyo up and down, scrutinizing every inch of Kyo's body, as if looking for a fault. Finally, Keisuke stood up to his full height. "Fine.", and went off. "Yay!", cried Tohru. "I think he thinks you're okay!" "Squirt?" Kyo asked. "I think that's a type of snack, I'm not sure yet..", she answered back. "C'mon! Everyone's coming together! I think it's going to start!" Tohru and Kyo ran off towards the gathering group of children, when she saw that other boy she was planning to meet playing ball, all by himself. "Go on a sec, Kyo. I need to do something......" "Alright" was the reply, and she ran off towards the boy to whom she had donned the nickname, 'Shy Purple'.  
  
~~  
  
"Hi!" greeted the girl, the smiley one. Yuki was taken aback. He had not been approached by a single person the whole day. "Um, hello." he replied. "I'm Tohru Honda!" She smiled, and all of the uncertainty that Yuki had harbored towards her vanished. He smiled himself. "My name is Yuki. Yuki Souma."  
  
'Wow', thought Tohru. 'He's so beautiful......' "Do you wanna play with us?" She held out her hand.  
  
He seriously thought about this. Was having this girl for a friend really worth everyone finding out about his secret? This smiley girl who made him feel better?  
  
"Okay.", he answered, and let her lead them to the group of first- graders while holding hands.  
  
~~  
  
Kyo was furious. 'How could she just grab Yuki and take him with her?!', he thought. He watched with narrowed eyes as they made their way towards the group, HIS Tohru holding the Rat's hand.  
  
"Tohru! What are you doing?!"  
  
"I just asked if Yuki wanted to play!", she answered, unaware of Kyo ever-growing  
anger.  
  
"But how could you even touch him?!! Do you even know what he- what he is??!!"  
  
"Um, isn't he your cousin?", she was beginning to worry. What had she done to  
make Kyo so mad?  
  
"You shouldn't even be saying that!", Yuki retorted. "If she knew what you were  
REALLY like, she wouldn't even speak to you!!"  
  
A crowd of children were now gathering around the two cousins. They had to know  
just what this heated conversation/argument was about. Keisuke grinned. He liked  
what he was seeing.  
  
"Stop it, you two!" cried Tohru. "What's going on?!"  
  
"SEE? This is all your fault!! If you hadn't agreed to play with us, and just left us  
alone, none of this would have happened!!"  
  
"Kyo, that's not really nice-"  
  
"Well, if YOU weren't such a big mouthed IDIOT, then maybe she wouldn't have felt  
sorry for you and wouldn't have even talked to you in the first place!!"  
  
"Yuki, how could you say that-"  
  
"WHAT?!!" Kyo pointed at Yuki. "Say that again, you stupid RAT-"  
  
**SMACK!!**  
  
Tohru's face was flushed. She had slapped Kyo. "Stop that, right now!", she cried.  
Kyo's face had a red mark from Tohru's hand, but he was still focusing on Yuki's  
last remark. So he did the only logical thing he could think of.  
  
..................He slapped her back.  
  
~~End Ch. 2  
  
How was it? Shocked? I was when I wrote this. Do you hate me? I promise that Yuki WILL have a larger role later on, but seriously, it seemed so much easier to make Kyo slap her instead of Yuki (he's so sweet....). It's so friggin HARD. Kyo is drop-dead cool, but Yuki is the sweet, mysterious one. There I go, rambling on again.....whatever. Just review...... 


	3. Aftermath

A/N: Hi! I'm back, and I'm back with gusto. Thanks to everyone who reviewed! On with the story!!  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket. So, my question is: Do I have to write that for every chapter?  
  
~Forgotten Memeories~  
By Burnt Rice  
  
Chapter 3: Aftermath  
  
Tohru stood motionless, watching Kyo and Yuki. Her right cheek was still pink from Kyo's hand. She could take the sting, but she couldn't understand why the act itself had hurt her so much. An audible gasp could be heard from the surrounding first graders, and Keisuke grinned widely. Yuki stared at Kyo with wide eyes. Kyo, who was caught up in the fury of it all, just now realized what he had done, what a horrible mistake he had made.  
  
"Tohru, I didn't mean-", but he got cut off.  
  
"I'm sorry.", Tohru apoligized. She turned around, and walked off in the opposite  
direction, towards the school.  
  
Kyo stood there, in the middle of the mass of people, next to the person whom he hated most in the world. Yuki couldn't take the staring, whispering, kids anymore. "What are you looking at?", he inquired, and gave all the children a look that could pierce and kill. All the kids caught full force of Yuki's chill, and got the message. They all walked away, whispering to each other of the taboo the Kyo had broken. Only he, Kyo, and Keisuke were left. Keisuke was the first one to speak up. "I like the way you work.", he patted Kyo on the back, and gave a venemous smile. "I knew there was something I liked about you.", he said knowingly, and sauntered away to blend himself among the throng of the other students. Yuki was fuming, glaring at Keisuke's retreating back. Not only was he still stuck with Kyo, but he had lost his only chance at making any friends whatsoever. Ignoring Kyo, he walked off by himself, towards the school, leaving the other boy standing alone.  
  
~~  
  
For the rest of the day, it seemed like as if there were some unwritten law forbidding anyone to even so much as glance at Tohru. She was used to this type of treatment, but it had never before been so fierce, so intense. Mrs. Daisuke, their teacher, was to busy to notice the treatment that was directed towards Tohru. And all of the children who wanted to be with Tohru, who had admired her from afar, were further cut off at Keisuke's wishes. He had instilled fear in their hearts early on in the year, and he used that fear to his full advantage.  
  
~~  
  
Kyo sat by himself for the remainder of the day. He, too, was already accustomed to being ignored; He had suffered from it for countless years, his blood binding him to the Souma family, but his curse placing a barrier between him and everyone else. He couldn't believe he had lost his only friend, the only one who had come to him without any hidden purposes. Tohru, the only person who had been with him simply for friendship's sake.  
  
~~  
  
Yuki could not believe he had been such a fool. He liked Tohru's smile so much; Why did he have to taint it with his pointless hatred towards Kyo? It was all his fault. He hadn't let anyone see that blind hatred before, why did he have to start now? Whenever he glanced over at Tohru, she was still wearing a smile, but it seemed strained, and her eyes seemed so sad, so pained. Yuki couldn't bear to look at her like that, but how could he confront her after how she had seen him? She probably hated his guts. She had given him warmth and kindness when no one else had, and Yuki had spoiled it. All of the kids weren't so much as passing him a crayon, and it hurt. He was used to attention, even at home, another place he closed himself off. ~~  
  
Keisuke looked at the three loners. Each of them by themselves, doing whatever wouldn't bother the most people. Giddy with pleasure at how the day had gone, he proceeded to plan how he would ruin their day tomorrow. He especially wanted to do away with Tohru. There was something about her eyes, something bright, that bugged him. He couldn't stand her. He remembered the first day she had come to class, all of the kids were buzzing with excitement. "She's so nice!", one boy had exclaimed. All of them loved her ideas, her games. 'But I never got that attention when I came here', he thought. Keisuke imagined his home, where his Dad had run off just last year, and how his Mom spent most days in her room, sobbing so much that it made his heart wrench. They were living on pension the government was sending, and pity money that their relatives left for them. Even now, he was still being pretty much ignored by his own mother.  
  
'It's not fair. Honda's Mom is so cool, bringing in snacks and all that....Why is she so lucky?' He thought to himself. His hatred towards her grew so much that he finally let it burst by brutally beating up another student. That triggered some sort of understanding between him and the kids. They would always ask him before doing anything. They followed his example, and Tohru slowly started to lose all of her admirers. All of a sudden, her Mom stopped bringing in snacks for the class, and Tohru's eyes became dimmer day by day. He acknowledged her existence by letting her play with them, but he always kept her on the outskirts, making sure that no one got too close. And today, when it seemed like she was getting close with those Souma kids, he tried to think out a plan that would nip their budding friendship. He grinned. He couldn't have set up today's events any better himself.  
  
~~  
  
The bell rang, marking the end of another day. Tohru walked out of the classroom, and her Mom was waiting at her usual spot, under an oak tree. Tohru walked towards her, and her Mom met her halfway. "How was school today, honey?"  
  
Tohru struggled for something to say. "Um..we got two new boys today."  
  
"That's great! Are they nice?"  
  
"Um...yeah, they're really uh, nice." Tohru tried to bring herself to smile, but it only came out halfway. "I think they're really....nice."  
  
Her mother saw the strain in her daughter's face. "Are you sure everything's okay?"  
  
"Um, yeah, never better."  
  
~~  
  
Keisuke hid behind the bushes, and watched Tohru and her Mom walk home together. He glanced up at the sky, noting the forboding grey clouds looming in the distance. Keisuke narrowed his cold eyes. "Just you wait, Squirt. Wait and see what I got in store for you tomorrow......"  
  
~~End Ch. 3  
  
Yay!! Short chapter! Aside from the fact that I didn't feel like typing anymore, I don't want to reveal Keisuke's plan just yet. I know this chapter was kinda depressing. (I was depressed just typing it) More interaction between characters next chappie, though! ^-^  
  
By the way, I got a question. I was reading the Megatokyo comic, and they were speaking L33t. (is that what it's called?) Can someone PLEASE translate this for me, I have NO clue what it says:  
  
D4 P41l/l !!!  
  
3Y3 l/l33l h3[P !  
  
3Y3 l/l33d j00 t0 g47z d4 d0ctor.  
  
3Y3 g07z s0m3 b4d p4ln 1l/l m4 ch3s7, l n33d m4 pl11z!  
  
note: the slash (/) is backwards. my keyboard doesn't have the slash in the other way.  
  
Sorry for the question. Please review!!!! 


	4. Thunder

A/N: I know, I know, it's been over a week, but I was out of town, and therefore, out of computer accessibility. Now I'm back, ( I was suffering from non-fic sickness the whole week ), and I have ideas, lots of ideas........heh heh........O.o *this is the non-typo version*  
  
Okay, enough with my petty excuses. Thanks to Sailor-Knight Shadowstar, the people in the corner, Gen, Miko, and Park Ji Jun, for translating that l33t thingy for me. I finally get it! ^-^ I am forever in your debt! Another special thanks to Olera14, who reviewed every chapter. (THANX!!) And thanks to everyone else who reviewed, it encourages me to write more!  
  
One more thing, about Tohru's hair controversy: At the time, I sincerely thought that Tohru's hair was grey. Keep in mind that I haven't even seen the whole series yet. I simply thought it was grey. Anyway, now that I look at it, her hair really DOES look dark brown. I must've been color blind.(T-T) Thanks to all who pointed it out, and I'm sorry if I caused any confusion. Besides, it's my fic, so I can make Tohru's hair green and make her dance like a monkey, for all I know. Whatever.......  
  
Disclaimer: FB is not mine. If it was, I'd at least know Tohru's real hair color...........  
  
~Forgotten Memories~  
By Burnt Rice  
  
Chapter 4: Thunder  
  
"Mom, do I hafta go to school today?" Tohru wriggled under the covers of her bed. She yawned, and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.  
  
"Well, why not?", replied her Mother.  
  
"Um....I don't feel so good."  
  
Her Mom didn't believe that for a second. "What's really buggin you?", she put her arm around Tohru.  
  
"Why does everybody hate me?"  
  
"No one hates you!"  
  
"Yes, they do."  
  
"Why would they?"  
  
"I....I dunno....."  
  
"Look, I know that something's buggin you. Just learn to trust your instincts. Everyone just has to get to know you better. Give them a chance, and eventually they'll open up to you. Trust me on this."  
  
Tohru looked up into her Mother's ever-so-confident eyes. There she found motivation. She stood atop her bed, her fist high up in the air. "Y'know, Mom, you're right! I can't let this get me down! I'm gonna....I'm gonna....well, I don't know what I'm going to do yet, but when I know, I'm gonna do my best!"  
  
"That's the spirit, kiddo! Now get ready for school."  
  
~~  
  
"Kyo?...Kyo, get up, we're going to be late for school!" Yuki prodded Kyo, who had spent the night sleeping feet up, head down. Drool was dripping off the young boy's mouth. Yuki stood over him, already fully dressed for school. "What an idiot", he muttered. He took a deep breath. "HEY! WAKE UP! WE'RE RUNNING LATE!"  
  
Kyo responded by sneezing, then turning over to face the side opposite of Yuki.  
  
Yuki had had it. This time, he didn't yell.  
  
*BAM*  
  
He pushed Kyo off the bed.  
  
"HEY! What was that for?!"  
  
"You wouldn't get up."  
  
"Did you have to push me?!!"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"That hurt!!"  
  
"It shouldn't. You have such a hard head anyway..."  
  
"WHAT?!!"  
  
Yuki and Kyo went off at each other for awhile. Not quite soon enough, Shigure, their older-though-not-that-much-more-mature cousin, lightly stepped into the room and intercepted. "Um, guuuuuuuuys", he said in a sing-song voice. "You still need to get to school. Preferably, sometime before valentine's day....."  
  
"FINE!", retorted Kyo. He stormed into the hallway, and the bathroom door  
slammed.  
  
"Whatever.", replied Yuki. He cooly walked out of the room, but Shigure could tell  
that Yuki was little more than flustered......  
  
~~  
  
The grey clouds that had seemed so far off yesterday afternoon had finally gathered upon Tohru's elementary school. Tohru was walking towards the front entrance when she felt the first lone raindrop fall on her shoulders. She could feel it's damp coolness penetrate her sweater. She looked up. "Hmm...I guess it's going to rain..." The girl stood there, looking up for the next few moments, as if mesmorized by the furling thunder clouds. More drops fell. "Mmph!"  
  
A firm hand smothered her mouth and Tohru was roughly dragged away from the entrance. She struggled hard, but whoever had taken her easily dampened her resistance. More falling torrents of rain. It swirled around Tohru and her captor, blinding their surroundings. She tried to yell, but the hand that was clamped down on her mouth muffled her cries. To sum it up, Tohru was utterly and completely helpless.  
  
~~  
  
"C'mon, Kyo!" Yuki stood waiting by the door, umbrella in hand.  
  
"Hymm Cohoming!" Kyo ran towards the door, his jacket hanging off one arm, a half piece of uneaten toast being chewed in his mouth.  
  
Yuki sighed as he and his cousin made their way out the door. With the rain pouring down, they couldn't even walk seperately like they usually did. Instead, they were stuck at a slow pace, huddling close together to avoid the rain. 'Granted, its not like I really hate him so much to hurt him....maybe more like he's annoying or something....', Yuki thought. The fact that they were facing the hostility of all the kids together made Yuki feel like they had a common goal. But he was too ashamed to face Tohru again. Together, the two cousins made their way towards school, already 15 minutes late.  
  
~~  
  
Tohru could feel the itchy ground moving beneath her. She was dragged behind a bush to the side of the building, and she still couldn't see her kidnapper. Her mind wasn't even filled with chaos and panic, as many other girls of her age would've reacted. Mostly, she felt regret that her Mom (and maybe Yuki, with his sad eyes) would never know what would happen to her, and pity for her captor, who must be lonely. A wet rag tied around her eyes was used to blindfold her. She also couldn't help but notice that whoever was tying her up had shaky hands, almost like he or she was nervous.  
  
"Okay, Squirt, now shut up and be quiet or else."  
  
'It's a boy voice! Squirt? Where have I heard that before?' Tohru thought for a moment. Her eyes widened in suprise. "Keisuke-san?!"  
  
"I TOLD you to shut UP!"  
  
Tohru still couldn't see Keisuke, as he was behind her. She couldn't be too sure about who he was, but no one else called her after a tasty snack! (She still thought that 'Squirt' was a flavor of chips) By this time, she was drenched in water. The rain kept pouring.  
  
"N-now, I want you to sit still while I..."  
  
"Are you scared?"  
  
"No, why would I be..."  
  
"Your voice and hands are shaky."  
  
"Shut up!! Now stay put...." Keisuke reached for the ropes that he planned to use to bind her wrists together. 'Why isn't she crying or something?", he thought angrily.  
  
A sudden flash of lightnng lit up the cloudy sky. With startling silence, it clawed it's way across the sky, as if Zeus himself were striving to rip the surrounding trees out of the ground. Keisuke shrugged it off, and proceeded to make for the ropes. *RUMBLE............. ......................CRACK!!!!!*  
  
Thunder.  
  
"AGH!" Keisuke couldn't take the pressure anymore. He abrubtly dropped the ropes, and scampered to the school's entrance, leaving Tohru to her own devices.  
  
"Hello?" At that, she took off her blindfold. She blinked, and realized that she was only a few meters from her school. She made her way towards the building.  
  
~~  
  
"So, Keisuke Monoe, Tohru Honda, and Yuki and Kyo Souma are all absent.", said Mrs. Daisuke. School had started half an hour ago. "Does anyone know where any of them are?" The class of first graders shook their heads. "All right then, let's start by...."  
  
The door opened, and there stood Keisuke, dripping wet, with a face filled with  
panic.  
  
"Keisuke!", cried the teacher. "What happened?"  
  
"Nothin. The rain.", he mumbled, and plopped down onto his seat. His face was  
now masked with a look of indifference.  
  
"Do you know where Honda or the Soumas are?"  
  
Keisuke stared long and hard. "Nope."  
  
~~  
  
The storm outside continued to rage. Ten minutes had passed. The class was in the middle of a reading when the door slowly and silently opened. But not silently enough. All heads turned around only to see Tohru Honda, damp, looking slightly bewildered.  
  
"Tohru!", exclaimed Mrs. Daisuke. "Where have you been?"  
  
"I was-", she stopped. Keisuke had locked eyes with her, a hardened glare that chilled her to the core. 'It might not've been him. I could have tripped and dreamed it up. Yeah, that's probably what happened.'  
  
"Um...I woke up late, and um...tripped."  
  
"Very well. Use this towel to dry off."  
  
"Thank you.", replied Tohru, and she took it to her desk, carefully avoiding looking  
at Keisuke.  
  
~~  
  
Class went on as usual. More minutes passed. Keisuke glanced out the window, and saw none other than Yuki and Kyo bound for the entrance to school.  
  
He raised his hand. "Mrs. Daisuke?"  
  
"Yes, Monoe?"  
  
"The rain outside is making me and some of the other kids kinda sad. Can I close  
the curtains?"  
  
"How thoughful. Of course you can."  
  
"And I just remembered. I think Yuki and Kyo are sick. I think they can't come to  
school today."  
  
"Thank you for the information, Keisuke."  
  
The boy proceeded to shut the curtains, so all you could hear was the rain pounding on the roof, and the deep clash of thunder every few seconds.  
  
~~  
  
Yuki tried the door of the main entrance to the school. "It's locked.", he told Kyo.  
  
"Locked? Lemme try." It was true. But the door wasn't even supposed to be locked  
until the school afterhours. "Let's try Mrs. Daisuke's windows."  
  
To their dismay, they couldn't even see inside the classroom, . Yuki pounded his fists against the windows, but the torrent of the storm drowned their attempt out.  
  
"What do we now?", asked Kyo. "We're stuck."  
  
~~  
  
Tohru stayed silent. She had no idea what had happened this morning, and wasn't even too sure that it actually happened. But she couldn't bring herself to look Keisuke's way. What did he have against her? What did she do? She heard pounding on the other side of the classroom. 'It's the rain.', she thought. But she heard it again. This time she was sure it was outside, on the other side of the window. And again.  
  
"Mrs. Daisuke, I think that there's something outside the window."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"No, there isn't!", yelled Keisuke. The other children looked at him strangely. "I  
mean, it's gotta be the rain, the thunder! Yeah, that's it!"  
  
"But I really think that there' something there-"  
  
"Don't be such a baby! It's just the storm!"  
  
The teacher speculated for a moment. "You know, Tohru, Monoe's probably right. It's probably just the rain. I mean, what would be out there, especially in this weather?" She left it at that, and continued to teach the class about addition.  
  
Tohru looked at Keisuke. He smirked.  
  
~~  
  
"ACHOO!" Yuki's pale face told Kyo all. 'Yuki's sick again, and we're stuck in  
this rain.', Kyo thought. Yuki, clothes wet, started a series of hoarse coughs.  
  
'What am I going to do?'  
  
~~End Ch. 4  
  
A/N: What do you think? (I know what's going to happen, lalala.....) Is it good  
enough for my reparation for not updating in a while? That's all I have to say  
for now. (How boring) So, go on and do what you do best, and REVIEW!!!!  
~Hasta 


	5. Lost and Found

A/N: Yay!! New chapter!(finally) I'm currently working on another fic (the plot is in the works), but as you all can see, I'm still plowing through this one! (which is a good thing) I think there's going to be about 2 or 3 more chapters, so thanks to all who have reviewed and to all who have kept up with this story!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own FB, what a suprise......  
  
~Forgotten Memories~  
By Burnt Rice  
  
Chapter 5: Lost and Found  
  
"ACHOO!" Yuki's pale face told Kyo all. 'Yuki's sick again, and we're stuck in  
this rain.', Kyo thought. Yuki, clothes wet, started a series of hoarse coughs.  
  
'What am I going to do?'  
  
~~  
  
The bell rang, and students piled out of their classrooms. The rain had ceased an hour ago, yet the clouds still overlooked the city. All of the younger children, despite their parents warnings, played in and near the puddles that the storm had left behind. Tohru walked down the sidewalk, quietly going over what had happened that day. Her mom couldn't pick her up today, as she had to do some overtime at work.  
  
'It can't have happened.', she thought. 'Keisuke-san was always nice to me.....I don't think that he would have any reason to....' She smiled, trying to convince herself that the day had gone normally, that the rain had gotten to her. Even the other kids at school treated her semi-civily today. One had even ask her to pass a red crayon his way. She had no idea where Yuki and Kyo were, and of course, Keisuke didn't treat her any different than any other day....'Except the way he looks at me. Like I did something wrong.' replied a tiny voice at the back of her head. "Well, I didn't!", she said aloud. She continued her stroll around the corner, almost a block away from her house. She heard a crying sound from behind a bush, and stopped.  
  
"Who's there?", she called. Tohru stood quiet and listened, but she couldn't hear anything else. She cautiously stepped towards the plant that had cried out. There she found two pitiful-looking creatures.....an orange cat and a small mouse.  
  
~~  
  
"There you go." said Tohru. She had carried both animals home, sorry that they had gotten caught in the rain. The cat was comfortably snoozing on the couch, blanket warming it's body. But the mouse seemed as if it had trouble breathing. Tohru had tried everything she could think of: she had toweled the rat dry, offered it cheese, and had even tried making it a quaint little bed next to the cat. (with no luck of getting them to sleep together) The rat just laid there, body moving only slightly to indicate that it was alive, it's eyes just half-open. Tohru was thoroughly frustrated.  
  
"Mr. Mouse, I don't know what to do anymore! Mom's not going to be home for another hour, and.....and I don't want you to get sick!" She teared up, not knowing how she could possibly help anyone anymore, feeling like a failure. "I can't even take care of animals, let alone make friends!"  
  
Yuki looked up at Tohru. She continued. "I've been trying to be nice to everyone, and keep smiling, but sometimes it's so hard! Why does everybody treat me this way? And today....today I don't even know anything anymore....I think that Keisuke did something, but I can't remember it....", her voice faltered. "But why am I telling you all this? You can't even understand me. But it's still nice to talk about this with someone, even if it's with you, Mr. Mouse."  
  
'I didn't know.', thought Yuki. "I need-"  
  
"Did you just talk, Mr. Mouse?"  
  
"Y-yes. I need c-cough syrup......" Tohru stared the mouse laying in front of her. She put her hand up to her forehead. "My temperature feels normal.....but maybe I'm burning up...."  
  
"Just get it for me...please. It usually makes me feel better...."  
  
Tohru thought for a moment. "Alright.", she said. She walked down the hallway, her footsteps fading. At this time Kyo woke up. He sat up,(at least up enough for a cat), yawned, and said, "Where are we?"  
  
"We're at Tohru Honda's house. I think she found us and took us home.", replied Yuki. Kyo looked at his surroundings. "Tohru? I don't know a Tohru....oh.....that Tohru." "Yes, that Tohru. Look, I think we should, I dunno, get to know her better. She's really nice you know." Kyo rubbed the spot where she had slapped him yesterday. "But I thought she didn't like me anymore."  
  
"So did I. But I think she feels just as bad as I.....I mean, we do."  
  
"Right.", Kyo responded. "And what about that freak Keisuke? I've seen him around Tohru. What does he have against her? She-Yuki!"  
  
Yuki started a series of hoarse coughs, practically gasping for air. "Yuki! Okay....... .........whatdoIdowhatdoIdowhatdoIdo?!!! I'm a stinkin CAT for Pete's sake!!!! How am I supposed to help him?!!"  
  
"So.....you can talk too, Mr. Cat?" Tohru stood by the door, cough syrup in hand.  
  
"OmigoshOmigoshOmigosh!!! How did you-I mean, how CAN you- what am I saying?! Quick, Tohru,...."  
  
"You know my name?"  
  
"Yuki needs you!!!"  
  
"Right!" Tohru headed for the mouse, filled an eye dropper with cherry- flavored cough syrup, and lifted it's tiny head just enough that it's mouth opened, just a crack. Then she stopped. "Yuki?"  
  
**POOF!!!!**  
  
And suddenly, instead of a talking cat spazing out on the couch and a barely- breathing mouse on Tohru's lap, there were two naked little boys in Tohru's room: One spazing out on the couch and the other on Tohru's lap trying to cover up things that a 6-year old girl shouldn't have to see...........O.o  
  
~~End Ch. 5  
  
I had mental images in my head while writing this......O.o Okay, that's all I'm going to write for now! I know I have a tendency to write short chapters, but......yeah. Please Review!!! (^.~) 


	6. New Fear

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket. I own nothing cool except for this fanfic. Bummer.  
  
A/N: I'm going to slightly modify the format for the character's thoughts. I'm going to stop placing their thoughts in these apostrophe thingys: 'example', as I understand that it might cause some confusion as to whether the character is speaking or not. l'll also try not to change the POV so much, because that's confusing too. Thanks to the reviewers who pointed that out to me! (I thrive in constructive critizism) ^-^  
  
*Author guiltily stares at the ground.* "Long wait before I updated? What wait?"  
  
~Forgotten Memories~  
By Burnt Rice  
  
Chapter 6: New Fears  
  
**POOF!!!!**  
  
And suddenly, instead of a talking cat spazing out on the couch and a barely- breathing mouse on Tohru's lap, there were two naked little boys in Tohru's room: One spazing out on the couch and the other on Tohru's lap trying to cover up things that a 6-year old girl shouldn't have to see...........O.o  
  
~~  
  
"We're cursed." explained Yuki. He was now fully dressed, and lying on Tohru's bed. "Whenever a girl hugs me or Kyo, we turn into a cat and mouse. Other members of our family also have the same reaction, but it works the other way around for girls. Except that they turn into the other twelve animals of the Chinese Zodiac."  
  
Tohru glanced at Kyo, who was sulking in a chair in the corner, and furrowed her eyebrows. "But what about the cat? Wasn't the cat left out......?"  
  
Kyo shrugged. "I dunno why I'm a cat, since the cat isn't really one of the twelve animals. All I know is....." He abruptly stopped, and stared at his bracelet. "Never mind."  
  
Wow!, thought Tohru. I finally get to meet my favorite animal! And that's why Yuki and Kyo fight all the time! Just like that one cartoon....what was it called again?  
  
Yuki spoke up and interrupted Tohru's train of thought. "You must think we're freaks....." His voice died down. "We.....we know someone....if you want to forget......."  
  
Tohru stood up. "No way!" Yuki and Kyo looked at her, a confused look on their faces. She continued. "I promise I'll keep your secret." She smiled. " Besides, it's kinda neat." Yuki flashed a weak smile and nodded, reassured. He finally fell asleep, peacefully slumbering upon Tohru's bed.  
  
Kyo grunted, and stared up at the ceiling. The girl looked his way, thinking hard about what to do. "Hey Kyo...."  
  
A muffled "Mmph?" was the only reply. Tohru persisted. "Kyo?", she asked. Still, nothing but a mumble. Undaunted, Tohru smiled. "Okay, I guess you're not very hungry for some salmon, are you?" She started to saunter out of the bedroom, and ever- so-slightly, Kyo lifted his head.  
  
Tohru's voice was now a band of echos as she travelled down the hallways. "And there's some Bruce Lee movies that I was gonna watch while eating......." She didn't need to utter another word. A blur of orange whooshed it's way past Tohru, and Kyo immediately sat down at the table, intently gazing at her with expectant eyes. Tohru laughed. "My mom's coming home soon. I guess that's a yes."  
  
~~  
  
"Wake up kiddo." Tohru's mom gently shook the six-year old girl from her slumber. Tohru blinked a couple of times, her eyes still not adjusted to the light. She asked, "Where's Yuki and Kyo?"  
  
Her mother smiled in reply. "I drove them home. You fell asleep right after dinner."  
  
"Oh yeah." Tohru suddenly remembered the evening's events. Soon after her Mother got home, Yuki woke up, still feeling a tad weak, but better noneheless. Both Yuki and Kyo had agreed to stay for dinner, which consisted of salmon, rice, spinach, (much to Kyo's dismay and Yuki's delight), and strawberry icecream for desert. After that, while her Mom was washing the dishes, all three children sat in front of the television and watched Bruce Lee's 'Enter the Dragon'. But Tohru couldn't remember the end of the movie as she had drifted off to sleep before the conclusion. In spite of the day's previous events, Tohru spoke. "I feel good about today."  
  
"You should feel like that everyday. Good night, Tohru. I'm happy for you." She crept out of Tohru's room, flicking the light switch behind her.  
  
~~  
  
Kyo closed the gate to the Souma house. The gate hadn't been oiled in years, and as a result, it rewarded the boys with a loud creak. Kyo cringed. Yuki turned back and said, "Shh! You don't want to wake anyone up, do you?"  
  
Wide eyed, realizing that they could wake everyone up at any minute, Kyo nodded as an apology. He and Yuki crept through the dark hallway and made their way towards their own rooms. "Almost there.", said Yuki. Little did they know that someone had impatiently awaited their arrival.  
  
A taunting voice came from the shadows. "And where do you think you're going?" Both boys gasped, and found themselves face to face with none other than Akito. Yuki spoke first.  
  
"Um, hi Akito. We were, uh, just going to bed, and...."  
  
Akito interrupted Yuki. "So. What's this I hear about some girl named Honda Tohru?"  
  
"Um....she's this girl at school.", replied Kyo. He avoided looking into Akito's eyes.  
  
"She's just this girl at school....", Akito mocked. "I don't want you guys to associate with someone  
like her."  
  
"WHY NOT?", cried Kyo. He stopped. Kyo realized his mistake as soon as he had made it.  
  
Akito glared at the boy. "Don't- you- dare do that again...." He raised his hand, prepared to  
hit Kyo. Kyo knew what was coming and covered himself with his arms.  
  
"STOP!!!" Yuki suddenly flung himself in front of Kyo, ready to take Akito's hit.  
  
*SLAP*  
  
By the force of Akito's arm, Yuki crashed into the shelves against the wall. A trail of blood trickled down the side of his temple. Kyo rushed to Yuki's side, tears in his eyes. Akito stepped towards the two boys, ready to give a second blow, this time to Kyo. Once more he swung his arm up, but stopped. Kyo was looking at him, full in the face, eye to eye. It was the first time in Akito's memory that Kyo had ever done that before. Kyo looked furious, ready to take anything on, his eyes just daring Akito to make a move. And, for the first time, Akito was the first one to avert his gaze. He lowered his arm, and sneered. "You're a waste of my time, got it? You're nothing, empty space. You don't deserve to be here. "  
  
Akito took a few steps forward, until he could touch Kyo's bracelet. "I know what you are. Without this bracelet, no one would ever love you." He paused. "No, even with it, no one would love you." He turned his attention to Yuki, who lay on the floor, only half-conscious. "Now, tomorrow I want you to stay away from this Honda girl. If not, you'll soon regret it." And at that, Akito silently molded into the shadows, leaving both boys feeling more alone than they had their entire lives.  
  
~~End Ch. 6  
  
*Sigh* This depresses me. Does this depress anyone else? Anyway, I promise that I'll try to update sooner. I'll honestly try to crank out the next chapter in the next week or so............REVIEW!!!!!! 


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